It's pretty mediocre. The writing and character development is lousy, and things like the half-hour talk show with that douchebag and the stupid levels of self-promotion through endorsements, commercials and social media are really, really hard to stomach.

The only good character development they have is Rick and Carl, they're big characters so at least they've done that. But yeah, the writing sucks and the acting isn't all that great either.

It's sad that AMC doesn't put more money into the show, they're obviously just lining their pockets. They should have kept Darabont and kept the show on the road, but they didn't want to fork over the cash. When I think of a zombie apocalypse, I think of constantly being on the road. It would have been a much better show. I think they just fired another head writer or something? It's amazing that AMC has 3 good shows with the idiot executives running the place.

The only good character development they have is Rick and Carl, they're big characters so at least they've done that. But yeah, the writing sucks and the acting isn't all that great either.

It's sad that AMC doesn't put more money into the show, they're obviously just lining their pockets. They should have kept Darabont and kept the show on the road, but they didn't want to fork over the cash. When I think of a zombie apocalypse, I think of constantly being on the road. It would have been a much better show. I think they just fired another head writer or something? It's amazing that AMC has 3 good shows with the idiot executives running the place.

FWIW I'm fairly certain I read somewhere that it had the highest production budget/cost of any show on cable. I could be wrong.

Either way , the best zombie stuff I can think of and to a greater point even most of the defining films in horror traditionally have been low budget. Money isn't the issue. The best works are usually born out of the the inventiveness and adoration of the creative forces behind them. Raimi. Carpenter. Del Toro. There's an it factor thats hard to put your finger on as far as horror goes. Self awareness and execution go alot farther than production value and scope in my book.

Anyways.Darabont, for all his prior success, decided he wanted to deviate from the original storyline and whiffed bigtime in his muddled translation of the comic. The writers and he were canned and the show was better for it. Whether or not he would would have toe'd the line, listened to Robert Kirkman and gotten back on track is debateable, but I have no issues with him being fired. Those idiot execs made the right choice there and again when they made the changes the made mid second season.

Now I really didn't think I'd find myself being the one defending this show ever but the complaints I keep seeing out there seem off kilter. The characters are lacking dimension? The writing is sub par? First off, welcome to every horror movie ever. Secondly, It's a TV show based on a horror comic whose defining characteristic was it's unapologetic tendency to kill any character at any time. Character archs in serials like comics and tv shows move flatly and develope organically by design. Especially with an ensembel cast. It's the nature of the beast. The show is written by comittee in a situation where developement takes a back seat to sudden and grandiose deaths of characters who individually can only have but so much facetime.

I may be straw man aruging here, but it seems to me the same people I see complaining about thin characters and vapid action are the same who bitched endlessly during the relatively anchored talkfest at the farm.

The show at this point and time is the best its been to date. Thats not to say it's by any means great. It's overly bloated with redshirts and would do well to better use the time given to its main characters. There's a failure to identify the aspects of a lot of the major storylines and characters that made the comics work and as such the show is a bit more souless than it potentially could have been.

That said, for me, it's entertaining and compulsively watchable. I curbed my expectations a long time ago and have enjoyed it since.

Even though The Walking Dead proved to be a hit – and it is the only series that AMC owns completely – the network had already announced to the producers that they would not only be cutting the budget of the series from $3.4 million to $2.7 million, but that they would also want 13 episodes produced instead of 6 episodes that made up its first season. To make matters worse, AMC also told the producers that the 30% tax credit that the series receives from filming in Georgia would go directly to the network, and not make up for some of the money that was taken out of the production budget.

Ok I was wrong. My point stands either way. The whole post wasn't meant to be directed at you by the way. More just ramblings with regards to what I'm seeing around the net.

Never thought it was, I think you make a valid argument. I think it's a good show and as far as the comic book stands, this season has been pretty accurate. People that criticize it probably wouldn't like the comic book either, but some deviance from the comic book isn't a bad thing.

It's going to be interesting watching this show when it's over just because all 3 season thus far have been pretty different. For the people who say there is no development, go watch the first season.